Auto Insurance in Irving, Texas [Can’t-Miss Guide]

Irving, TX City Stats Table

Irving, Texas is in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex. It’s actually located in between Dallas and Fort Worth, with easy access to the larger areas. Former home to the Dallas Cowboys, the city is also a hub for live music.

When you live and work in the area or come for a visit to catch a game or check out a concert, you need to know the car insurance basics and some general information on the city.

So where do you start when looking for this information? Sure, you can Google it, but finding exactly the information you’re looking for can take time and even be hard work sometimes.

And what if you don’t know exactly what questions to ask? If you don’t know what you don’t know, how can you even search for it?

Not to worry, the hard work is behind you. We’ve done the research, we’ve asked the questions, and found the answers you need to ensure you’re safe and legal on the roads in Irving, Texas.

Take a few minutes to read through this article to learn more about average car insurance costs in the city, personal and city factors that can affect those rates, road and highway conditions, accident rates, and more so you’re prepared when you get behind the wheel.

Why not get started by using your ZIP code and get a free quote on car insurance?

The Cost of Car Insurance in Irving

When you’re shopping for car insurance, how do you know which company is right for you? What coverage do you need? Your specific situation will drive the answers to these questions, but one place to start in looking at potential insurers is price.

To drive legally in Texas, car insurance (or some form of proof of financial responsibility) is typically mandatory. Since this is essentially a required expense, how much can you expect to be charged in Irving?

What can affect these prices? Are there things you can do to reduce your insurance rates? How do different personal and city-specific factors affect your insurance rates?

These are just a few of the questions we’ll answer in the next several sections. We’ll take a look at how where you live, your age, gender, commute length, coverage type, and other factors can affect the rates you pay.

Do gender and age affect my car insurance in Irving?

We’ll start with age and gender. We all commonly discuss that if you’re under the age of 26 or you’re male, you’re probably paying higher insurance rates than anyone else. But is this actually true?

We’ve partnered with Quadrant to pull data on rates for men and women across different ages to see if either of those factors actually affect insurance rates in Irving.

While gender as a factor in insurance rate adjustments is a somewhat controversial practice and has been outlawed in several states, it’s still legal in Texas.

To see whether age and gender have an effect on car insurance, we’ll look at rates at different ages, and then rates for men versus women. Finally, we’ll combine the data and compare rates for men and women at various ages.

First off, rates at ages 17, 25, 35, and 60:

Irving Insurance Rates by Age

As you can see, all else being equal, the younger you are, the more you’ll pay in insurance. In fact, on average, at 17, you’ll pay 138 percent more for insurance than someone who is 25, 197 percent more than someone who is 35, and 218 percent more than someone who is 60.

With the best rates at age 60 and the median age of city residents only 31.9 years old, it may be a few decades before you qualify for the most affordable insurance rates in Irving.

However, average rates at 60 are only about 6 percent higher than rates at 35, so the rates for average residents won’t be too much higher than the most affordable ones.

As you’ve seen, age is definitely a factor insurance companies use when adjusting your rates. But what about gender? Below we’ve listed the overall average rates for men and women in Irving, so you can see the difference:

• Average premium for men: $4,373.16
• Average premium for women: $4,125.90

It’s clear in looking at these rates that there is a small difference between rates for men and women, with men paying an average of 6 percent more for car insurance than women.

Now we’ll take all the data we’ve looked at so far to see how age and gender combined can affect your insurance rates. In this table, we look at all four of the age categories we’ve already discussed for both men and women.

Irving Rates by Age and Gender

This data supports what we’ve learned so far. The younger you are, the more you’ll pay for car insurance (by a significant measure in the case of 17-year-olds), and men typically pay more for their insurance premiums than women.

The greatest gap between men and women is at age 17, in which male drivers pay almost 20 percent more in coverage than female drivers, while the smallest gap between men and women is at age 35, where the gap is a little over 3 percent.

What are the cheapest ZIP codes in Irving?

In addition to age and gender, where you live can have a not-insignificant effect on your car insurance rates. This is because insurance companies adjust their rates based on perceived risk.

The higher the perceived risk, the higher your rates will be (which is why 17-year-old males generally pay the most for car insurance).

With this in mind, we can better understand why insurance companies adjust their rates based on where you live. When adjusting your rates, insurance companies consider the ZIP code in which you live from the perspective of crime rates in that ZIP code.

We’ll look at Irving crime rates in greater detail in a later section, but here, we’ll specifically look at average rates for each ZIP code in the city.

Irving Average Rates by ZIP Code

The cheapest ZIP code in the city for car insurance is ZIP code 75039 at $6,182, while the most expensive ZIP code for car insurance is 75038 at $6,517.48. Drivers in Irving are fortunate that the difference between average rates in the cheapest and most expensive ZIP codes is only about 5 percent.

To get a better understanding of what may affect these ZIP code-based rates, we did a little research and found that the average income in ZIP code 75039 (the cheapest for car insurance) is higher than the national average, and crime rates are on the lower end.

By contrast, the average income in the most expensive ZIP code (75038) is below the national average, and crime rates are higher than the national average.

What’s the best car insurance company in Irving?

So if you’re shopping for car insurance, what is your best option in Irving? It’s not quite as simple as saying, “This company is the best insurance company in Irving.”

There are a lot of factors you have to consider when determining which company is best. And it depends on your needs, lifestyle, and the risks you personally face, as well as what you can afford.

While we can’t tell you which company is best for your needs, we can provide you with some information on how different companies adjust rates based on various factors that may apply to you.

Some of these variables include commute length, the amount of coverage purchased, and credit scores. Read on to learn more.

Cheapest Car Insurance Rates by Company

We’ll start with price on its own. In the below table we’ve listed the average rates for some of the largest insurers in Irving.

Irving Cheapest Car Insurance Rates by Company

The company with the cheapest rates in Irving is USAA. However, USAA is only available to members of the military and their families. The most affordable car insurance company in the city that’s available for all applicants is State Farm.

It’s also interesting to note the variation of rates across the companies. American Family is the most expensive, and their rates are 104 percent higher than State Farm and 146 percent higher than USAA.

However, keep in mind these rates are averages across the board and may vary based on your individual circumstances. We’ll look at some of these possible variations in the next few sections.

Best Car Insurance for Commute Rates

How long is your commute each day? The average American commutes about 13,476 miles each year, as reported by the Federal Highway Administration.

Average drivers in Texas travel an average of 16,347 miles, which is about 21 percent higher than the national average.

Unfortunately for Texas drivers, this can mean higher insurance rates, because the longer your commute, the higher your rates may be. Take a look at this table to see how commute length can affect insurance rates.

Irving Best Car Insurance by Commute Rates

As we’ve seen so far, USAA and State Farm offer the most affordable rates across the board. However, on average, your insurance rates will be about 1.63 percent higher with a longer commute.

If you’re insured by State Farm, Nationwide, Progressive, or American Family you’re in luck because they don’t increase their rates for higher commute times.

However, if you’re insured by USAA, Geico, or Allstate, you’ll see an increase of between 2.5 and 5 percent in your premiums as a result of a longer commute.

So why does commute length affect your insurance rates? It all goes back to that perceived risk we talked about earlier.

Essentially, the more time you spend on the road, the higher your chances of getting in a traffic incident of some kind that can result in claims being filed.

As a result, to hedge against this potential risk, insurance companies may increase your rates if you have a higher annual commute (which you already know the average driver in Texas does).

Best Car Insurance for Coverage Level Rates

Our next consideration is how your rates may be affected by the amount of coverage you purchase. Your coverage levels can vary dramatically depending on your needs, and you alone can determine the right coverage level for your needs.

For this discussion, we’ve simplified coverage into low, medium, and high levels, and listed average rates for each in this table.

Irving Car Insurance Rates by Coverage Level

In general, as you might expect, higher levels of coverage mean higher premiums.

Moving from low to medium coverage, rates increase between 1.5 and 5.6 percent. Between medium and high coverage, the rates increased between 0.73 and 13 percent.

The one exception to this is Nationwide, whose rates actually decreased about 11 percent between low and medium coverage.

For each level of coverage, we’ve listed the companies with the best rates below:

• Low coverage: USAA and State Farm, at $2,615.66 and $3,089.83, respectively
• Medium coverage: USAA and State Farm, at $2,709.71 and $3,262.89, respectively
• High coverage: USAA and State Farm, at $2,840.31 and $3,464.08, respectively

Best Car Insurance for Credit History Rates

Another factor we have to discuss is credit history.

Your credit score is not only a determining factor in your ability to obtain a loan or qualify for lower interest rates, but it can also affect your insurance premiums.

Why? Back to that perceived risk question yet again. If you have good credit, you’re seen as a lower risk by insurers because they see good credit as a sign of responsibility. If you’re fiscally responsible, they assume you’ll also be a responsible driver.

So what can credit scores do to your insurance premiums in Irving? We’ve collected data and put it in the below table so you can find out.

Irving Best Car Insurance Rates by Credit History

As we’ve seen with the other factors we’ve discussed, regardless of your credit, the companies with the most affordable rates in Irving are USAA and State Farm.

The exception is when you have good credit, when the most affordable rates are offered by USAA and Geico. However, all three companies have higher percent increases in rates for fair and poor credit.

Using the credit score ranges provided by Experian, we’ve listed the average rates for good, fair, and poor credit in Irving:

• Good credit (670+) — $3,331
• Fair credit (580-669) — $3,966.85
• Poor credit (300-579) — $8,821.62

Overall, increases in rates from good to fair credit range between 16 and 77 percent, and increases in rates from fair to poor credit range between 8 and 50 percent.

When you’re looking at companies’ percent increase in rates based on credit score.

Progressive is a good option if you have fair or poor credit, as they have the lowest percent increase from good to fair and from fair to poor.

When you’re deciding which insurance company in Irving is the best for you, this is another factor to keep in mind.

Best Car Insurance for Driving Record Rates

In our final section on personal factors insurance companies consider when adjusting your rates, we’ll take a few moments to discuss what is likely the most logical consideration for insurers: your driving record.

If you have a clean driving record, you’re automatically a lower risk in the eyes of insurers and will have lower insurance rates as a result.

So what does this mean in Irving? Take a look at this table to find out. We’ve compared average rates for a clean driving record to average rates with one accident, with one DUI, and with one speeding violation.

Irving Car Insurance Rates by Driving Record Rates

If you have a clean record, USAA and State Farm still offer the best rates at $2,019.21 and $2,893.93, respectively. However, there are a couple of variations when we look at the lowest average rates for different traffic violations.

In looking at the average rates in dollar amounts for each of the different traffic violations, the most affordable companies are:

• One accident: The companies with the most affordable rates are still USAA and State Farm, with average rates of $3,004.62 and $3,337.02, respectively.
• One DUI: The companies with the most affordable rates are Geico and USAA, with average rates of $3,329.09 and $3,544.58, respectively.
• One speeding violation: The companies with the most affordable rates are again USAA and State Farm, with average rates of $2,319.17 and $2,893.93, respectively.

In looking at the average rates from the perspective of the percent increase for each traffic violation compared to a clean driving record, we see the following:

• One accident: The companies with the lowest rate increases are Nationwide and State Farm, as Nationwide does not increase their rates at all, and State Farm has an average increase of 15.31 percent.
• One DUI: The companies with the lowest rate increases are Geico and American Family, with average rate increases of 10.27 and 11.2 percent, respectively.
• One speeding violation: American Family, State Farm, and Allstate all have no rate increase.

What are some car insurance factors in Irving?

Insurance companies consider several factors beyond just those that are a result of your personal choices, age, and gender. One of these factor categories is specific to the larger area in which you live.

Factors such as the growth and prosperity levels, education, and average income are just some of the city-specific statistics insurers consider when adjusting insurance rates.

Over the next several sections, we’ll go into more detail on these and other statistics in Irving to better understand the picture insurance companies see when they are considering rates at a macro level. Keep reading to find out more information.

Irving Metro Report

The first step is to look at growth and prosperity trends in Irving to find out whether or not the city’s prosperity and growth are on the rise.

We’ve looked to the Brookings Metro Report for this information, and these data points are key because they can directly affect the local economy, employment rates, and as a result, crime rates.

As you review the data we’ve included below, it’s important to keep in mind that the information provided is for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex, rather than for Irving specifically.

The area’s prosperity is on an overall increase across the 10-year span of 2007 to 2017, and is ranked 52 out of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country. This prosperity ranking is based on three primary factors:

• Productivity: increased 6 percent from 2007 to 2017, ranking the metropolitan area 87th out of 100 metropolitan areas in the country
• Standard of living: increased 3.8 percent from 2007 to 2017, ranking the metropolitan area 87th out of 100 metropolitan areas in the country
• Average annual wages: increased 4.9 percent from 2007 to 2017, ranking the metropolitan area 59th out of 100 metropolitan areas in the country

Productivity increases indicate that there was some kind of new innovation or improvement in workforce skillsets. The standard of living increases as a result of increases in productivity and wages.

From 2007 to 2017, the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex shows strong growth indicators, ranking the metropolitan area eighth out of the top 100 metropolitan areas in the country for growth.

When determining growth, the same Brookings Report looks at three primary factors:

• Jobs: increased by 19.1 percent from 2007 to 2017, resulting in a rank of six out of 100
• Gross metropolitan product (GMP): increased by 26.3 percent from 2007 to 2017, resulting in a rank of 12 out of 100
• Jobs at young firms: increased by 1.7 percent from 2007 to 2017, resulting in a rank of 10 out of 100

Increases in jobs are an obvious indicator of overall growth in an area. GMP increases as the result of an increase in goods and services, and increases in jobs at young firms means positive entrepreneurial growth.

The important thing to note about all of this data is that increases in growth and prosperity mean increases in income and standard of living. This can result in a reduction in crime rates, which ultimately can result in a decrease in your car insurance rates.

Median Household Income

We’ve already discussed the fact that insurance is required, and you know by looking at the rates in the previous sections that car insurance can be expensive.

So how much of your income can you expect to spend on car insurance in Irving?

According to DataUSA, the median income in Irving is $58,196 in 2017. This is a 6 percent increase over the median income in Irving in 2016, which should be no surprise, given the impressive growth and prosperity statistics we looked at in the previous section.

To see how much of this goes to your insurance coverage, take a look at the below table.

Irving Percent of Income Spent on Car Insurance

As you can see, car insurance is a hefty chunk of the average income, at over 10 percent being allocated to premiums.

Homeownership in Irving

If you watch television or listen to music streaming services like Spotify or Pandora, you’ve probably seen or heard some car insurance commercials lately touting the benefits of bundling your insurance.

One way to do this is by combining your home and auto insurance. Do you own your own home? If so, this is an option you can consider.

Owning your own home is also a sign of responsibility (back to that never-ending perceived risk idea again) that some insurers will consider when adjusting your rates.

So what does homeownership look like in Irving? We return again to the DataUSA report, which indicates that 37.7 percent of Irving residents owned their own homes in 2018. This is a 1.34 percent increase over 2017.

To take this a step further, we’ve compared the homeownership rates in Irving to metro, state, and national averages below:

• The national average for homeownership is 63.9 percent, which is 69.5 percent higher than the homeownership rate in Irving.
• Texas’ average for homeownership is 62 percent, which is 64.5 percent higher than the homeownership rate in Irving.
• The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex average for homeownership is 59.8 percent, which is 58.6 percent higher than the homeownership rate in Irving.

Education in Irving

As we briefly alluded to in the section on growth and prosperity, innovation and worker skillsets result in better standards of living, higher median incomes, and as a result, lower crime rates.

Higher levels of education are a direct contributor to this, and as you already know, lower crime rates often mean lower insurance rates. But higher education has a two-fold benefit in relation to car insurance rates.

Similar to credit score, insurance companies often see higher education as a sign of responsibility and reduce rates as a result.

Though we don’t discuss this in detail here, we will spend a moment looking at the higher education opportunities available in Irving.

According to DataUSA, the universities in Irving awarded a total of 3,505 degrees in 2017. The same report indicates that the largest universities in Irving (based on the number of degrees awarded) are:

• North Lake College (awarded 1,416 degrees in 2017)
• University of Dallas (awarded 820 degrees in 2017)
• Universal Technical Institute–Dallas Fort Worth (awarded 555 in 2017)

In addition, DataUSA notes that the most popular majors students pursue include general studies, general business administration and management, and automobile mechanics technology.

College students in Irving can also choose to attend one of the following:

• DeVry University-Texas
• Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Dallas
• Anthem College-Irving
• Tint School of Makeup and Cosmetology-Irving
• Advanced Beauty College
• DeVry University’s’ Keller Graduate School of Management-Texas

Wage by Race & Ethnicity in Common Jobs

DataUSA also reports statistics on average incomes for different job families by race and ethnicity, which is listed in the below table.

Irving Wage by Race & Ethnicity in Common Jobs

Using the data in the above table and combining it with what we already know about the average cost of insurance in Irving, we calculated the average amount of income spent on car insurance for driver/sales workers & truck drivers for the same races and ethnicities.

Irving percentage of income spent on car insurance by race and ethnicity

It should be fairly obvious that the lower a person’s wages, the higher the percentage of income will be allocated for insurance.

As a result, individuals in the “other” category, who make the most as driver/sales workers and truck drivers, spend the least amount of their income on car insurance at 13.27 percent.

By contrast, Asians, who make the least as driver/sales workers & truck drivers, will spend the largest percentage of their income on car insurance at 18.78 percent.

Wage by Gender in Common Jobs

It commonly accepted that on average, women still make less than men. So what does the purported wage disparity look like in Irving?

DataUSA’s report only has wage data by gender at the state level. So in 2017, on average men made $64,953 and women made $45,959 per year. This means as of 2017, men make 1.41 times more than women do in Texas.

To better understand the wage gap, we looked at average wages for men and women in various common job families in Texas, which we’ve outlined in this table. Take a look.

Irving Wage by Gender for Common Jobs in the City

As you might expect based on the first piece of data we considered, men make more than women in every category included in the above table. However, the exact difference in wages varies by job type.

As an example of this, consider retail salespersons: men make an average of 54 percent more than women. However, among elementary and middle school teachers, men make 11 percent more than women.

We’ll now consider these same wages from the perspective of the percentage of income men and women spend on car insurance.

Irving Percent of Income Spent on Car Insurance

As we discussed in the previous section, the lower the wages, the higher the percentage spent on car insurance. That means since men make more than women, men spend less of their income on car insurance than women.

Poverty by Age and Gender

Now that we’ve considered the wage gap between men and women, what do poverty rates look like? DataUSA again provides information on poverty rates in Irving for different ages of both males and females.

As of 2017, 14.3 percent of the population lives in poverty in Irving, which is 9.16 percent more than the national poverty level of 13.1 percent.

In this table, we look at the specific age and gender poverty rates for Irving.

https://datausa.io/profile/geo/irving-tx/

The largest segment of the population living in poverty is women ages 25 to 34 at 10.3 percent. This is 78.2 percent more than men of the same age range.

In fact of all the ages considered, the poverty rates for women are higher than men in all but three categories. Those three categories are under age 5, ages 6 to 11, and ages 12 to 14.

Sadly, the largest gap in poverty rates between men and women is age 65 to 75, in which 223 percent more women are in poverty than men of the same age range.

Poverty by Race & Ethnicity

With the poverty rates between men and women in mind, we’ll now consider poverty rates for the same races and ethnicities we’ve already discussed. Take a look at this table to see a summary of DataUSA’s statistics on poverty rates in Irving:

https://datausa.io/profile/geo/irving-tx/

White, Hispanic, and black ethnicities are the top three groups living in poverty in Irving. Specifically, of those living in poverty, 36.3 percent are white, 36.1 percent are Hispanic, and 9.59 percent are black.

Ultimately, for the purposes of this discussion, as we’ve already noted, lower incomes mean higher percentages of those incomes being spent on car insurance.

This means there are a higher number of white, Hispanic, and black people spending larger percentages of their incomes on car insurance than other races and ethnicities included in this DataUSA research.

Employment by Occupations

We’ve spent some time looking at education, the most common degree programs, wage differences for common job families, and poverty rates across a couple of different variables.

Now let’s consider overall employment in Irving.

We’ve discussed that the growth and prosperity of the larger metroplex are on the rise, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that employment grew by 2.7 percent from 2016 to 2017 (from an estimated 121,000 to an estimated 124,000).

In the below table, we’ve outlined DataUSA’s information on the percentage of employees in each of the major job families in Irving.

Imported from Manual Input

The data in this table reflects about 96 percent of the employed population in Irving.

Management occupations, which we’ve already looked at from the perspective of wages, make up about 9 percent of the employed population.

Recall that “miscellaneous managers” had significantly higher wages than the other job families we considered earlier.

We’ve noted the three largest job families in Irving below:

• Office and administrative support
• Sales and related occupations
• Management

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Driving in Irving

Now that we’ve looked at a variety of statistics related to wages and poverty in Irving, we’ll turn our attention back to driving in the area, so you have what you need to be prepared when you get behind the wheel.

We’ll take some time to consider highway traffic data, road conditions, whether or not the city makes use of red-light or speeding cameras, vehicle types common in the area, and more.

To ensure that you’re aware of other factors that can affect your insurance rates and safety on the road, we’ll also spend some time looking at vehicle fatality rates, vehicle theft and general crime rates, as well as traffic congestion, and more.

All of this information can better help you gauge the risks you may face, and help you frame your conversation with an insurance agent about your coverage needs.

Read on to learn more.

What are the major roads in Irving?

As a first step in looking at information on driving in Irving, we’ll consider some of the major roads you’ll traverse as you make your way about the city.

Are there speeding or red-light cameras? How do the roads look? Will their condition affect the wear and tear on your vehicle? If so, by how much?

This is described in the following few sections. Keep reading to find out the details.

Major Highways in Irving

In Texas there are 25 interstate highways: I-2, I-10, I-14, I-20, I-27, I-30, I-35, I-35E, I-35W, I-37, I-40, I-44, I-45, I-69, I-110, I-410, I-610, I-820, I-635, I-345, I-69C, I-69E, I-69W, I-169, I-369.

These combine to make up a total of 3,501.15 highway miles in the state.

When you’re driving in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex area, you’ll find the following toll roads (there are a total of 10):

For all the toll roads in Texas, you can purchase a TollTag (also known as a TxTag). If you have a TollTag, your rates will be about 50 percent less than if you do not.

If you don’t have a TollTag, as we noted already, your rates will be about 50 percent higher, and you’ll pay by mail through the ZipCash program.

Essentially, if you don’t have a TollTag, cameras at each tollway will take photos of your license plate and a bill will be sent to the address to which the vehicle is registered.

I-14 is also referred to as the 14th Amendment Highway in honor of the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution.

I-35 splits into I-35E and I-35W. I-35E flows through Dallas, while I-35W flows through Fort Worth.

In addition to the facts we’ve already discussed about highways in Texas, the state’s highways also include a few high priority corridors, which we’ve listed below.

• High Priority Corridor 83: The Central Texas Corridor follows Interstate 14.
• High Priority Corridor 55: The Dallas to Memphis to Little Rock Corridor follows I-20, I-30, and I-40 through Dallas County.
• High Priority Corridor 38: The Ports to Plains Corridor follows Interstate 27.
• High Priority Corridor 23: The Interstate Route 35 Corridor follows I-35.
• High Priority Corridor 18: The NAFTA Superhighway follows the entirety of I-69.

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Popular Road Trips/Sites

We’ve spent a lot of time discussing serious topics (and we’ll continue to do so in later sections), but let’s take a minute to lighten it up a bit.

What are some fun things to see and do in the Irving area? To check out some of the options take a look below. All you have to do is get behind the wheel and go for a drive.

• Mandalay Canal: A series of canals that connect some of the hotels, businesses, and homes built in the area offers the opportunity to experience some European flair in the heart of Texas.
• Mustangs of Las Colinas Museum: Located in the center of Williams Square, this majestic sculpture of nine mustangs racing through a stream is a must-see for residents and visitors of Irving alike.
• Toyota Music Factory: If you’re looking for entertainment in Irving, look no further than the Toyota Music Factory, where you can find live music, restaurants, and epic movie experiences.

Road Conditions in Irving

So what do the road conditions look like in Irving?

Aside from the frustration of hitting a pothole or bumping along on a rough road, poor road conditions can dramatically increase the wear-and-tear on your vehicle and increase your maintenance costs.

The TRIP Urban Road Report provides road condition information for major metropolitan areas across the country. We’ve pulled their road condition data for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex and included it in the below table:

Irving Road Conditions

While 48 percent of the roads in the metroplex are in fair or good condition, 52 percent are either mediocre or poor.

The result of the less-than-optimal road conditions in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington area means an additional $609 in vehicle operating costs (VOC).

The national average for VOC in metropolitan areas of 500,000 residents or more is $567, which means if you live in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex, you’ll spend about 7 percent more than the national average.

Does Irving use speeding or red-light cameras?

The state of Texas has red-light cameras installed, but not speeding cameras, according to a report by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

However, their use is somewhat controversial, and over the years, some lawmakers have tried to have them banned in the state (see the video for more information).

In June 2019, Irving became one of the cities in the state that no longer uses red-light cameras.

What type of vehicles are in Irving?

In the United States, we love our personal vehicles. We like our independence and the joys of the open road. And Texas is no exception.

But what does vehicle ownership look like in Irving specifically? How many vehicles do households in the area typically own? What percentage of households don’t own any vehicles?

What does theft look like? Are there speed traps?

We’ll cover all this and more in the next few sections so you can better understand the environment and risks you face as a driver in Irving, which can affect your insurance coverage and choices.

Most Popular Vehicles Owned

One of the most popularly owned personal vehicles in the D7allas-Fort Worth-Arlington area is the Dodge Charger. The average gas mileage for a Dodge Charger is about 16 miles per gallon in town and 25 miles per gallon on the highway.

To get an idea of safety ratings for Dodge Charger, we pulled NHTSA safety ratings for a 2019 Dodge Charger. NHTSA reported there have been three recalls for the vehicle. The overall NHTSA safety ratings are:

• Overall — five stars
• Front driver side (based on response to a head-on collision) — four stars
• Front passenger side (based on response to a head-on collision) — four stars
• Side barrier driver — four stars
• Side barrier rear passenger — five stars
• Side pole — five stars
• Rollover — five stars

How many cars per household

We’ve used the same DataUSA report to find out what vehicle ownership looks like in Irving.

Similar to the rates across the country, the single largest percentage of households own two vehicles (42.5 percent in Irving, versus 41.2 percent across the United States).

The next-highest percentage of households own one vehicle, at 29.3 percent. This is 40.19 percent more than the national average of 20.9 percent of the same.

The remainder of households in Irving that own vehicles are divided among the following:

• 16.1 percent of households own three vehicles, which is 23.3 percent less than the national average of 21 percent.
• 6.36 percent of households own four vehicles, which is 26 percent less than the national average of 8.6 percent.
• 2.94 percent of households own five or more vehicles, which is 24.6 percent less than the national average of 3.9 percent.

Households without a Car

Now that we’ve discussed the percentage of households that own vehicles (and the distribution across the different numbers of vehicles per household), how many households don’t own any vehicles?

The U.S. Census reports on the percentage of households that don’t own any vehicles in cities across the country. We’ve summarized the data for Irving below:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mPzKAcPnAs6CsmqmxPbrUQCBkMVqsOKNtgBTCWd-d08/edit#gid=0

We calculated the average percentage of households without vehicles across the country, as provided by the U.S. census and discovered the following:

• The 2015 average for households with no cars: 9.7 percent
• The 2016 average for households with no cars: 9.3 percent

This means that there were about 50 percent fewer households with no vehicles in Irving than the national average.

Speed Traps in Irving

While currently there are no speeding cameras in Irving, there are some speed traps in the area. We looked at the full Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex to find out how many.

Irving itself isn’t listed on the report we examined, but some of the surrounding areas are included. Current speed-trap data for the area is below:

• Number of speed traps in Dallas: 9
• Number of speed traps in Fort Worth: 6
• Number of speed traps in Carrollton: 5

These speed traps were reported by drivers in the area over the past five years.

Vehicle Theft in Irving

As promised when we discussed ZIP codes in one of the earlier sections, we’ll now spend a few minutes looking at vehicle theft and crime rates in Irving, so you know what to expect.

According to the FBI, 720 vehicles were stolen in Irving in 2018.

If you feel your vehicle is at risk of theft, it may be worth speaking to your insurance agent about what your options are for additional coverage to financially protect yourself in the event of vehicle theft.

Insurance companies look at more than just car theft rates when considering how to adjust rates based on crime rates in a particular ZIP code. So what do other crime rates look like in Irving?

Neighborhood Scout provides crime data for the real estate market. We’ve pulled the relevant data for this discussion and included it below.

They report that the safest neighborhood in the city is in the Ranchview Drive and North Macarthur Boulevard area.

Irving’s crime index, according to Neighborhood Scout, is an 18 out of 100, with 100 being considered the safest.

This scale indicates that living in Irving is safer than living in 18 percent of the cities across the nation, from the perspective of violent and property crime.

Crime rates for Irving are:

• Violent crime: 2.14 per 1,000 residents
• Property crime: 25.02 per 1,000 residents
• Violent and property crime combined: 27.16 per 1,000 residents

When we compared the violent crime rate in Irving to state and national rates, we found:

• Irving rates are 48 percent lower than the state rate of 4.11 per 1,000 residents.
• Irving rates are 47 percent lower than the national rate of four per 1,000 residents.

Ultimately, all this violent crime data means your chances of becoming a victim of a violent crime in Irving is one out of 467 people, while across Texas as a whole, your chances are one out of 243 people.

When we compared the property crime rate in Irving to state and national rates, we found:

• Irving rates are 5.7 percent higher than the state rate of 23.67 per 1,000 residents.
• Irving rates are 4.25 percent higher than the national rate of 24 per 1,000 residents.

In other words, your chances of becoming a victim of a property crime in Irving is one out of 40 people, while across Texas as a whole, your chances are one out of 42 people.

Finally, when looking at the number of crimes per square mile, Neighborhood Scout reports:

• Irving: 97 crimes per square mile
• Texas: 27 crimes per square mile
• United States: 31.1 crimes per square mile

How is traffic in Irving?

So what about traffic, everyone’s least-favorite driving experience? Regardless of what we do, we just can’t seem to escape it. But we can be prepared.

So just how bad is it in Irving? What is the congestion like? What does an average commute look like in the area? How do people typically get to and from work? Where are the busiest highways?

These are just a few of the questions we’ll answer in the next several sections. So keep reading.

Traffic Congestion

We checked the INRIX 2018 Global Traffic Scorecard to see what traffic congestion looks like in Irving. While there is no data specific to Irving itself, there is traffic congestion information available for Dallas, which we’ve listed in this table.

Texas Traffic Congestion INRIX

INRIX also reports on the speed of free flow, off-peak, and peak traffic times for the area:

• Peak traffic speed — 33 mph
• Off-peak traffic — 50 mph
• Free-flow traffic — 55 mph

Finally, according to INRIX, Dallas is ranked 112th in the world and 21st in the country for traffic congestion.

Transportation

Now that we know what traffic looks like in the Dallas area, what are the transportation options and average commute times in Irving? DataUSA provides this information as well.

The average Irving resident spends about 23.3 minutes commuting to work each day. This is 7 percent lower than the national average of 25.1 minutes. It’s also 5 percent lower than the Texas average of 24.5 minutes.

With this in mind, recall that we earlier discussed that insurance companies sometimes adjust rates higher for drivers with longer commutes because of the increase in perceived risk.

So what options for commuting to people in Irving have? And how many make use of each? Take a look at the top three in Irving:

• Drove alone: 79.1 percent, which is 3.26 percent higher than the national average of 76.6 percent, and is 1.98 percent lower than the state average of 80.7 percent
• Carpooled: 11.5 percent, which is 27.92 percent higher than the national average of 8.99 percent, and is 17.83 percent higher than the state average of 9.76 percent
• Worked at home: 3.67 percent, which is 31.27 percent lower than the national average of 5.34 percent, and is 29.42 percent lower than the state average of 5.2 percent

Busiest Highways

Now that we’ve looked at congestion and commute statistics for Irving, where and what are the busiest highways?

The Texas A&M Transportation Institute Mobility Report has compiled a list of the most congested highways across the state of Texas. In the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex, the following highways are included:

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Busiest Highways

We also collected information from the same Texas A&M Transportation Institute Mobility Report on rush hour and congestion for highways in the same metroplex area and found:

• Rush hours per day: 4.5
• Percent of congested lane miles: 18 percent

How safe are Irving streets and roads?

We’ve looked at traffic congestion, commute length and type, and more. Let’s now take a few minutes to consider safety.

We’ll review data from the NHTSA Texas Crash Report to find out just how dangerous the roads in Irving are, so you’re prepared when you get behind the wheel.

Take a look at this table to see the vehicle fatality rates for Dallas County (in which Irving falls) based on a number of variables.

Irving NHTSA Vehicle Fatalities

Keep in mind that some of Dallas falls within Dallas County as well, so these numbers are not for Irving alone.

The total number of fatalities in Dallas County in 2018 is 295. However, as you might expect, these fatalities involve more than one crash type.

What we mean by this is that if you add up all the fatalities by type (single vehicle, intersection, speeding, etc.), you’ll find the total is 581, which is almost double the total number of fatalities for the county.

So to understand how much these crash types are involved in the total number of vehicle-involved fatalities in Dallas County in 2018, take a look at this list. Of the 295 total fatalities:

• 40.34 percent involved an alcohol-impaired driver
• 7.29 percent involved a single vehicle
• 35.25 percent involved speeding
• 41.36 percent involved a roadway departure
• 22.71 percent involved an intersection

This data also shows that alcohol and roadway departures are major factors in fatalities in Dallas County.

The same NHTSA report also provides fatality types, which we’ve included in the below table.

Dallas County Fatality Types 2018

We combined the total fatality types included in the table, which equals 189 fatalities. This means passengers, pedestrians, and pedal cyclists made up 64 percent of the vehicle-involved fatalities that occurred in Dallas County in 2018.

To find out where these fatalities most often occur, by road type, we gathered NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Encyclopedia data for Texas.

Texas Road-Type Fatalities

For reference:

• Collector arterial roads connect local streets with major and minor arterial roads.
• Major and minor arterial roads are high-traffic roads that support major areas of activity. This includes rural and urban interstates, freeways, and highways.

In looking at the data in the above table, it’s clear that vehicle fatalities can occur on any road type. However, minor and collector arterial roads appear to have some of the highest fatality rates.

In addition to the fatality data we’ve already considered, we’ve also collected U.S. Department of Transportation data on railroad crossing incidents for Dallas County. This information is listed below.

Dallas County Railroad Incidents

No matter where you’re driving, it’s vital to pay attention to all posted signs and warnings when you come across a railroad. Slow your speed, be prepared to stop, and don’t take risks.

Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report

With all of this fatality information at the forefront of our minds, it’s a good time to take a moment to look at data indicating how safely drivers behave on the road in Irving.

One way to do this is to look at Allstate’s America’s Best Drivers Report. The company produces this report annually, ranking the 200 largest cities and metropolitan areas in the country on a few different factors.

To see where Irving ranks, take a look at the data summarized in this table.

Irving Allstate Good Best Driver Ranking

Irving ranked 175th out of 200 cities for the best drivers in 2018. Unfortunately, as the data shows, their ranking has slipped from 2017, when they were ranked 166th.

Irving drivers typically file claims every 6.7 years and are likely to file claims 49.6 percent of the time, as compared to the national average.

Ridesharing

If you need to get around the city without driving yourself, you have ridesharing options, including Lyft and Uber, as well as traditional taxi services.

Take a look at this table to see how rates compare.

Irving Ridesharing Options

To get a full picture of the ridesharing options in Irving, we used RideGuru to pull available options and rates. To ensure the pricing we found is consistent, we selected one pickup and drop-off point (Hyatt Place Dallas/Las Colinas and Toyota Music Factory).

The cheapest fare is a taxi, but the basic Lyft and Uber rates are comparable. The luxury rates are significantly higher, and at that end, the taxi companies cost significantly more than Uber and Lyft.

E-Star® Repair Shops

What if you need a car repair? Where is the best place to go? How do you know you’ll get the service repairs you need?

One way to find consistently high-quality repairs and good customer service is to check for E-Star® repair shops in your area. You can be confident in taking your vehicle to any company certified as an E-Star® repair shop.

Ten of the E-Star® Repair-certified shops in the Irving area are listed in this table, along with available contact information.

Irving E-Star Shops

What is the weather like in Irving?

Weather can have a significant effect on your ability to drive safely. This is largely due to weather affecting the road conditions and visibility, which in turn can affect your ability to maintain situational awareness, keep control of your vehicle, and more.

We’ve collected average weather in Irving and listed it in this table. Take a look.

https://www.usclimatedata.com/climate/irving/texas/united-states/ustx2737

While this information is helpful, we should look a little deeper. What about natural disasters? Do they happen often? Are they something to consider when getting behind the wheel or purchasing insurance?

The U.S. average for natural disasters is 13, but in Irving the average is 19. Nine of these were declared major disasters by the president, and 10 were declared emergencies.

The majority of these were storms involving flooding and hurricanes. With this in mind (remembering that the number of natural disasters in Irving is higher than average), it may be worth considering speaking to your insurance agent about protection options.

In general, your best bet for this may be comprehensive coverage, as it provides coverage for damages beyond those that occur in an accident.

Is public transit available in Irving?

If you need to get around the city, and you don’t want to drive yourself or call a ridesharing service, you have some public transportation options available to you in Irving. We’ve listed your options, as well as some general pricing information, below.

Dallas Area Rapid Transportation (DART) system

• The DART is a bus system that traverses the metro area.
• One-way fares cost $2.50 (cash only if you don’t have a GoPass or a Day Pass voucher).
• A GoPass is a reloadable transit pass that allows you to go cashless.
• Monthly passes are also available for $96 (base price).

Trinity Railway Express (TRE) 

• The TRE is a commuter train that connects parts of Dallas, Fort Worth, and Irving Monday through Saturday.
• TRE has reciprocity with the DART and allows single-ride tickets from DART to be used on the TRE and vice-a-versa.
• One-way passes cost $2.50.
• Day passes cost between $5 and $12 each.
• Seven-day passes cost $25.
• Monthly passes cost between $80 and $192.

Orange Line Light Rail

• The light rail connects the airport with parts of downtown Dallas and Irving and part of the DART system discussed above.
• One-way fares cost $2.50.
• Monthly passes are also available for $96 (base price).

Las Colinas Area Personal Transit (APT)

• The APT serves parts of Irving and connects riders with various DART stations so switching vehicles is efficient and convenient.
• The APT is free.
• It is available Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m.

Is other alternate transportation available in Irving?

Aside from ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft, and public transportation such as DART, TRE, and APT, which we discussed in the previous few sections, there still other forms of transportation available to you.

While we were unable to find specific information on the use of dockless scooters or bike rentals in Irving, in nearby Dallas, you have several options.

You can choose from some of the following:

• Bird
• https://www.li.me/en-us/home
• Jump
• Ofo
• MoBike

Unlike cities such as New York and Chicago, the city is fairly supportive of these companies, and even the police don’t mind, because there haven’t been many safety incidents involving the bikes and scooters.

While pricing for these rentals varies depending on the company and location, most of them follow a similar business model:

• An initial unlocking fee (usually around $1 or $2)
• A per-minute charge of somewhere between 15 and 35 cents.

Some companies (though not all) do offer monthly passes, which are usually based around:

• The same unlocking fee
• No charge for under a certain time threshold (in many cases around 30-45 minutes)
• A charge (either by the minute or by the half-hour) for any time beyond that window

Is parking easy in Irving?

When you’re in the city, you need to know where you can park. We did some research to find out what your parking options are in Irving, and where you can find current information when you’re searching for that perfect parking space.

The cost of coin-metered street parking and the available payment options aren’t available online.

However, there are several parking garages and lots in Irving, which you can find on Parkopedia. The site also lists space availability and prices for the available spots.

There are currently 10 level-two electric vehicle (EV) charging stations available throughout Irving. For those that charge, prices aren’t publicly available. There are also 38 level-one EV charging stations, which are free for public use.

In addition to the EV charging stations available through the city, there are company-owned and operated EV charging stations the combination of which (along with the city-operated charging stations) total 195 available EV charging stations.

For a full list of charging stations available in Irving, including the type and current availability, you can check ChargeHub.

If you’re on your way out of town and need a parking space at the airport, what can you expect to pay? What about when you need short-term parking to pick up a visitor?

We’ve listed the various available parking types and rates at Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport. Take a look.

Long-Term Parking 

• Off-site parking (which includes shuttle access to the airport): costs $5-$7 per day (and can be booked ahead of time)
• Express parking: costs $12 per day in the uncovered lot and $15 per day in the covered lot
• Remote parking: costs $10 per day
• Terminal parking (in lots A, B, C, D, and E): costs $24 per day
• Valet parking: costs $31 per day

Short-term Parking

• Terminal garage (in lots A, B, C, D, and E): costs between $2 and $24, depending on the amount of time you spend parked in the garage
• Express parking: costs between $2 and $12, depending on the amount of time you spend parked there
• Remote parking: costs between $1 and $10, depending on the amount of time you spend parked there

How is the air quality in Irving?

We can’t spend a significant amount of time discussing vehicles without touching on air quality. This is an important topic both from the perspective of the potential health considerations and the environmental impact.

Most experts (and the general public) agree that vehicle emissions are a significant contributor to poor air quality and have long-term negative effects on the environment.

What experts can’t agree on is the exact amount to which vehicle emissions contributes, as so far it has been difficult to define this (though current estimates are around 33 percent).

So what does air quality look like in Irving?

While there is no Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air quality data for Irving specifically, there is information available on the air quality for the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex, which we’ve summarized and included in this table.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington EPA Air Quality

The 2019 data has not been finalized (it won’t be fully validated until May 1, 2020). Partial data from 2020 isn’t yet available, either.

Finally, the air quality index (AQI) refers to the number of days within a calendar year in which air quality data was collected and recorded.

As you can see, the number of days considered unhealthy for sensitive groups increased between 2017 and 2019, and those considered unhealthy increased as well, with a spike in 2018.

While we can’t accurately define the exact percentage of pollution that’s due to vehicle emissions, we can define what byproducts of vehicle emissions have negative effects on the environment and public health, which we’ve listed here.

• Particulate matter — It includes soot from vehicle exhaust, diesel exhaust, etc., which can be absorbed into your lungs.
• Volatile organic compounds — Combined with nitrogen oxide and sunlight, these transform into ground-level ozone, which can inflame the respiratory system.
• Nitrogen oxides — This creates both ground-level ozone and particulate matter.
• Carbon monoxide — If inhaled, this can stop oxygen from reaching your brain, heart, and organs.
• Sulfur dioxide — This typically results from burning diesel and coal and creates particulates in the air that can be inhaled.
• Greenhouse gases — This is largely carbon dioxide, which is most often tied to tailpipe emissions of vehicles. Experts link this to global warming.

Military/Veterans

You already know insurance (or proof of financial responsibility) is required in Texas. And we’ve also already discussed just how expensive this can get (recall that on average, about 10.62 percent of your income will be spent on car insurance each year).

So what are your options for making this necessity more affordable? While we don’t go into detail on the variety of available car insurance discounts in this article, we will spend a few minutes considering military discounts.

Active and retired members of the military can qualify for discounts from some car insurance companies. Additionally, USAA’s insurance offerings are specifically tailored for military members and their families.

To start reviewing the options available to military members and their families, we’ve collected DataUSA information on demographics of veterans in the Irving area.

https://datausa.io/profile/geo/irving-tx/

The largest percentage of veterans in Irving served in Vietnam, followed by the Gulf War (1990s) and the current Gulf War. There are about 47 percent more Vietnam veterans than from any other war.

The Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth is the only military installation located within one hour of Irving.

We looked at the top 10 insurance companies in Irving to find out which offer military discounts and discovered that in addition to USAA, the following companies do so:

• Allstate
• Geico
• State Farm

We’ve also looked at USAA’s average rates in Texas as compared to the other companies in the area. Check out this table to see how they stack up.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nPw7wsF4TkTWRtZhga_7A7tx21yJF7mPBObxE1ZavRY/edit#gid=1577983431

Across the board, USAA offers better rates than the other major companies available in Irving.

Unique City Laws

We’ll now spend a couple of minutes looking at laws unique to Irving, specifically, so you can be prepared when you’re in the city.

Hands-free driving is a fairly common law, and Texas is no exception. There are no Irving laws regarding cellphone usage while driving because state laws take precedence.

Texting and driving is strictly prohibited in the state, and all cellphone use is banned if you’re under the age of 18.

However, handheld phone usage for calling is still permitted except in school crossing zones and public school property, when reduced speed is required.

Overall, as compared to numerous other states across the country, Texas has fairly relaxed laws regarding the parking and use of tiny homes. However, you’ll still need to follow the zoning and permit requirements specific to your area.

In the Irving area, there are several places from which you can purchase tiny homes or have them custom-built.

To operate a food truck in Irving, you’ll be required to obtain a mobile food permit and food serving permit. These are annual permits, which range between $100 and $200.

You’ll also be required to follow the Inspections Department requirements within the city.

There don’t appear to be any parking laws on the books in Irving specifically. This means residents and anyone driving a vehicle in Irving are subject to the parking laws defined at the Texas state level.

These include no double-parking and no parking in a crosswalk, sidewalk, or intersection. You must be at least 30 feet away from the end of a safety zone to legally park near one.

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Irving Car Insurance FAQs

We’ve done our best to make this insurance guide for Irving as complete as possible. However, we know there may still be questions to which you need answers.

To aid in answering any additional questions, we did some research and found some of the most commonly asked questions about driving and living in Irving, which we’ve answered below.

#1 — What are the specific car insurance requirements in Texas?

In Texas, the minimum liability car insurance required to legally drive is as follows:

• Bodily injury per person: $30,000
• Bodily injury per accident: $60,000
• Property damage per accident: $25,000

#2 — How close is Irving to Dallas and Fort Worth?

Irving is part of the greater Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex. However, technically, based on city borders, Irving is:

• 12.9 miles from Dallas
• 25.9 miles from Fort Worth
• 14.6 miles from Arlington

#3 — Where can I register my vehicle in Irving?

You have a number of options for where you can register your vehicle in Irving, a list of which can be found by visiting the Dallas County website.

#4 — Is Irving a good place to live?

If we examine the available data, we see that the city’s growth and prosperity are on the rise (recall we already discussed this in an earlier section of the article), and the cost of living is fairly reasonable.

It’s also centrally located in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex. However, we also saw from Neighborhood Scout that the crime rates are a bit higher in Irving than in other parts of Texas.

Ultimately, only you can decide if Irving is the right place for you.

#5 — What does ZZ Top have to do with Irving?

The drummer for ZZ Top, Frank Beard, went to high school in Irving.

Now that you know the basics for car insurance and driving in Irving, take your first step in finding the best car insurance for your needs by using your ZIP code to get a free quote on car insurance.

Enter your ZIP code below to compare auto insurance rates.

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